“It’s indeed my fault.” Meng Qi apologetically nodded his head to the people in the restaurant and took back his left hand from knocking on the table.
However, the swordsman did not let him go. He cursed drunkenly, “You bastard, you think you can just apologize? If I cut you, I could just nod my head and it’s all over?”
He rushed toward Meng Qi with his sword in the scabbard, ready to cut him to teach him a lesson.
Meng Qi slightly shook his head, grabbing the sword which lay on the table.
Before the sword could slice, the man suddenly realized that he was crashing into the hilt and was obviously going to be hit in the belly before his sword reached the opponent!
He hastily changed his move, waving the sword to make him step aside and avoid the hilt.
In his drunkenness, he staggered and narrowly avoided falling down awkwardly. Everyone watching laughed.
The swordsman moved on in great anger, planning to round behind Meng Qi and stab him in the back with the sword in the scabbard.
Just as he stepped out, the sword somewhat changed direction and pointed to his stomach at exactly the right time and direction. Though the two swords had the same length, Meng Qi would surely strike first.
Meanwhile, Meng Qi looked at Zhang Yuanshan and said with a gentle and sincere demeanor, “Senior Brother Zhang, if you can’t think clear, then go back and have a good sleep. After that, you can make your decision. As your friend, whether you choose your family or Lady Zhen, I’m here for you.”
The swordsman changed his position and stood to the left side of Meng Qi, ready to wave the sword.
Suddenly he felt numb in his waist. He stood still. The other’s sword was somewhat already there, while this time it was the sharp end of the scabbard waiting for him!
He was frightened and clear-headed, full of terror with fear in his eyes. His opponent had not even drawn his sword, moved his feet or lifted his hands, and he had already defeated him?
The crowd watching in the restaurant could not laugh anymore. This swordsman’s Kung Fu was not great, but he was acknowledged by the men in Jianghu who usually came to the restaurant as decent. Despite being drunk with unsteady steps and hands, he still had solid strength. It was not easy to defeat him. However, this weak child-like young man who focused more on talking than moving, had only changed the way his sword lay, and made the swordsman seal his own acupoints.
What was this mysterious sword art?
The swordsman returned to normal after being numb for a while as Meng Qi had not used the inner force. Finding that Meng Qi ignored him, he hastily slipped away from the restaurant.
“Come and walk with me.” Zhang Yuanshan gritted his teeth and stood up with his sword. He left an ingot of silver and walked out of the restaurant, deciding to cool himself and make the final decision.
As his Inner Qi Force was stronger than Meng Qi’s, even having drunk more than half a bottle of wine, he still walked steadily and did not stammer.
Meng Qi had not drunk much, so he was not affected. He followed out with his sword.
The light grew dim, and the setting sun disappeared in the west.
“Have you finished the engagement?” Meng Qi asked.
Zhang Yuanshan answered yes with dull and glassy eyes, as if there were a fierce struggle in his heart.
The two walked slowly around Tonglong Town. The night breeze stroked Meng Qi’s face with coolness, sweeping off the heat of the liquor.
When they arrived at the outside field, a figure carrying two swords appeared from behind a tree and stopped in from of them.
By the light of the moon, Meng Qi could see him clearly. He looked a little short and handsome but childish. With eyes slightly lifted, it could be assumed he was an arrogant teenager.
“Junior Brother Yao, why have you stopped us?” Zhang Yuanshan asked with a thick voice. He was in a bad mood, so he was not as temperate as usual.
“Junior Brother Yao? This is Yao Xingliu of the Yaos?” Meng Qi heard Zhang Yuanshan’s introduction and could tell from the man’s age that he was not Yao Xinghen. Though there were many disciples in the Yao Family, only a few were worth being taken seriously by Zhang Yuanshan.
“Could he be seventeen? Why was he half a head shorter than himself, like a thirteen or fourteen years old kid? Maybe he was a late developer…” Meng Qi let his mind wander onto other things.
Yao Xingliu looked at them and said, “Senior Brother Zhang, just now I walked past the restaurant and saw your friend’s sword art was quite outstanding. I want to study with him.”
“Tut, a Kung Fu addict indeed. But what a coincidence that he saw me beating that swordsman when passing the restaurant! “ Meng Qi felt both emotional and confused.
Zhang Yuanshan tilted his head and asked Meng Qi’s opinion. He did not intend to make a decision for him.
“This kid masters Four Acupores and the Exterior moves like me. I don’t know who is better…” Meng Qi felt the desire to fight, having a battle with the heir Disciple of a mainstream martial arts realm and thus measuring his true level.
Before he replied, Yao Xingliu said with a snort, “Easy, I won’t use my ‘Yang Insufficiency and Yin Excess’, only the sword art of the enlightenment period.”
“Alright.” Meng Qi did not want to draw out his Red Sun Evil Blade anyway. It might expose his identity.
Zhang Yuanshan walked back a few steps, barely restraining his mind and watching them on the side, deciding to join them if necessary to avoid accidental injury.
Yao Xingliu drew out his two swords, the long one in his right hand and the short one in his left. Without words, he spun two different semi-arcs with the swords, attacking Meng Qi with a peculiar move.
The long sword in his right hand was yang and tough, while the dagger in his left hand was cold and delicate. Combined together, there was an unusual harmony. With ceaseless strong arcs, it seemed that all weapons would be pulled away from them.
“No flaw, no, the flaw keeps changing with the change of Yin and Yang… “ Meng Qi walked a step back with a grim face, the Ice Portal Sword still in its scabbard.
As Meng Qi drew back, Yao Xingliu advanced. The sword and the dirk suddenly crossed, with two back-to-back semi-arcs. The wind was fierce and swift, and the yin qi intruded silently.
Meng Qi still did not draw his sword. He moved a step back to avoid the range of the sword.
Yao Xingliu got the upper hand and then advanced with seven combos. Meng Qi still did not draw his sword and moved back seven steps.
However, with the seven steps, he escaped the range of Yao Xingliu’s move exactly.
The Yang Sword was from above while the Yin Sword was from below. Yin and Yang rotated, thus shaping the Tai Ji. Yao Xingliu exerted the tenth move.
All of a sudden, Meng Qi drew out his sword. The normal sword flawlessly stabbed into one eye of the Yin-Yang Fish of Tai Ji.
With a sound of clinking, Yao Xingliu’s double swords were pulled to the side by their respective power. Yao Xingliu’s abdomen was widely exposed.
Meng Qi did not continue to pursue but put his sword back in its scabbard. Cupping one hand in the other, he said, “Thanks.”
Yao Xingliu looked at the two swords in a daze, not believing he had lost the fight. Within a few seconds, the offense and defense were reversed, and the winner was determined.
While he had a secret technique to save his life and several moves to put up a desperate fight, he had definitely been defeated in this fight!
Zhang Yuanshan was more surprised than Yao Xingliu. In Four Apertures he was a little better than Yao Xingliu because he had rich experience in actual combat. Yao Xingliu had been easily defeated. Even if he’d kept the Tai Ji momentum from the beginning, he might have still lost.
Moreover, though they both had top Exterior sword moves as their secret techniques, Meng Qi’s was better!
Most importantly, what he had done better in was the bladesmanship!
Was “the Nine Strategies Beyond the Swords” sword art so powerful that it was comparable to the Kanxu Sword Art in the enlightenment period?
Meng Qi looked calm and casual as if he had won easily, while in actuality he was extremely exhausted mentally.
The fight with Yao Xingliu just now could be regarded as his most worn-out sword art fight since he had begun to learn the Nine Strategies Beyond the Swords. The nine steps just now were to advance by retreating, gradually making Yao Xingliu step into his own pace and show his slip. As for the last cut, time, angle, speed and change were all musts, which contributed to the masterpiece of his sword art.
Thus, this cut was even more exhausting than “Yama’s Invitation”.
He said peacefully, “If you’d only used the Yang sword or the Yin sword, I may not have done it in one cut. But your changing moves for the combination of yin and yang were quite stiff. Yin and Yang were against each other with no harmony, so I had the chance to break through. After all this, I must thank you, for I’ve learned a lot from this fight.”
This was the truth. Yao Xingliu’s presentation of the double swords combination gave him a new way of Sword Blade Ambidexterity.
Yao Xingliu thoughtfully put the double swords back to the scabbard and curled his lip. “Losing is losing, and I admit it. But it’s a little shameful to lose to a fool.”
“Who is the fool?” Meng Qi’s lips twitched. This small kid had quite a rude mouth.
Yao Xingliu sighed and looked up to the sky. “If I were Senior Brother Zhang, I’d appease the girl, and keep the engagement unchanged. Until breaking through the Zhen Wu Plow Formation, I’d accidentally ‘die’ when traveling downhill.”
“What?” Meng Qi and Zhang Yuanshan both looked toward Yao Xingliu in astonishment. “He had not just gone past there by chance! How much had he heard?”
But Yao Xingliu’s words inspired Meng Qi. He had been confused and had not thought about this idea!
Yao Xingliu still looked to the sky. “If you were to ‘die’ by accident, the engagement would be dissolved. Then sister Song wouldn’t have the mark of being rejected or having a run-away fiancé. Then, the Zhang Family and the Song Family would have to cooperate for some time, the basis of the union would be steady without your marriage. At most, your parents would feel sad for a while, but you have brothers and sisters anyway. You would have to conceal your identity and establish your status in Jianghu again.
“After all this, you could go back to see your parents in secret. The Zhang Family definitely wouldn’t reveal this secret. If you want to come back with pride, then try your best to become a grandmaster.”
“Even if I reveal it, the union of Zhang and Song will stay unchanged as long as there’s no evidence showing you’re still alive.”
Zhang Yuanshan’s eyes grew brighter as he listened as if he had rid himself of all the binding.
Meng Qi listened with astonishment. The analysis of pros and cons was excellent, it exactly the same as he himself had just been thinking!
He spoke out, “Aren’t you a Kung Fu addict?”
Since when could a Kung Fu addict say such words?
Yao Xingliu looked at Meng Qi scornfully. “I’m a Kung Fu addict, but I’m not stupid.”
“What do you mean?” Meng Qi’s cheek twitched.
Yao Xingliu snorted. “Whoever only drinks alcohol and doesn’t think about solutions is stupid.”
“Come on, kid, let’s fight for another 300 rounds!” Meng Qi felt severely angry and wanted to take action.
Yao Xingliu’s face twitched. He said gruffly, “You’re quite the small kid yourself!”
Meng Qi was actually younger than Yao Xingliu. He looked to be seventeen or eighteen because he was taller and more mature in temperament.
Meng Qi hated his words but had no way to cope with it. Suddenly he came to realize something. He looked at Yao Xingliu with a faint smile and said, “A man of the Yao Family, with no desire to destroy the union of Zhang and Song, and considers the business between Zhang and Song as his own. What spirit is this?”
Yao Xingliu’s expression changed. “What do you mean?”
“As a Kung Fu addict, you ‘accidentally’ went to a restaurant without masters at night, and heard our conversations. What kind of coincidence is this?” The faint smile on Meng Qi’s face was increasingly obvious. “Unless you’ve been following us from the beginning.”
Yao Xingliu turned away quickly. “I have business to do. See you later.”
“Why did he follow us? Why does he care about this? Why doesn’t he stand with his family? Why is he sincerely thinking about solutions for us?” Meng Qi’s voice became increasingly louder, his face “solemn” and “serious”. “There’s only one truth!”
“Yao Xingliu likes Song Mingxi!” He shouted a little loudly.
Yao Xingliu staggered and almost fell down, running away faster.
There was a chance to solve the problem for Zhang Yuanshan. Meng Qi felt happy and free, and said with pride and laughter,
“Spring-fever kid, come on, let’s fight for another 300 rounds!”
